Ashes 2023: "James Anderson Looked Like The Most Disappointing Bowler For England So Far" - Ricky Ponting

James Anderson, the English pacer who played poorly in the first two Tests of the Ashes series, was criticized by former Australian captain Ricky Ponting. In his first four innings, the illustrious bowler has taken just three wickets at an unbelievable average of 75.33.

Ponting thinks that in order for England to overturn their 2-0 series disadvantage, they must keep Josh Tongue in their starting lineup for the third Ashes Test at the cost of experienced pacer James Anderson.

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Both teams have little time to prepare as they head north to Leeds for day one on Thursday, with Australia coming closer to their first away Ashes series victory since 2001 after the flurry of rumours and controversy that was Lord’s. After taking over for Moeen Ali in the second Test, Tongue claimed five wickets, dismissing Australia’s first-inning openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja as well as Steve Smith twice.

“From what I saw last week, I thought he was the standard of their fast bowlers. Stuart Broad got the wickets in the second innings, but Tongue got early breakthroughs,” Ricky Ponting told Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

Tongue, like Smith, removed a resurgent Warner a second time in the contest, after targeting the stumps with bowled and lbw dismissals. Ponting believes that his performance is adequate to keep his position.

“They were both very similar dismissals from around the wicket with the ball coming back in, I think that is something that they need to consider as well, “Ricky Ponting noted.

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“We haven’t seen that in the series so far” – Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting, a former Australian captain, acknowledges that there are concerns about Moeen’s fitness and Rehan’s readiness to handle the rigours of Ashes cricket. However, he thinks that Anderson should be the one to make way if a spinner is added.

“He (Anderson) looked like the most disappointing bowler for England so far,” Ponting said. “What you expect from James Anderson is when he’s got that new ball in his hand, he’s taking early wickets, he’s moving the ball, and he’s not going for any runs. We haven’t seen that in the series so far. And that’s not a direct criticism of James Anderson.

“He’s been one of the all-time greats of the game, with his longevity and his wicket-taking ability, but if I was looking at the bowlers I saw last week, I think he’s the one that’s looked to have the least amount of penetration,” Ricky Ponting told Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

“(Ollie) Robinson’s had less penetration, but he’s probably actually bowled a bit better. He’s been in control of the game more than Anderson has. They’ve still got a few questions there with Moeen. Do they risk going into the game again and having the same (injury) happen,” Ricky Ponting said.

“I doubt that he would have bowled enough between the end of Edgbaston and the start of Headingley for them to be 100 percent convinced that he’s going to be physically right to bowl a lot of overs in a Test match. It could get down to the stage where they’re bowling last at Headingley and they might need someone like him to bowl 25 or 30 overs in an innings,” Ricky Ponting added.

The third Ashes Test will begin on Thursday, July 6 in Leeds at Headingley.

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